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model:Iona photos: Meg
Bakewell, Katherine
Tombeau Cost, David
Bay

by Meg Bakewell

For each of my three children,
my sister’s
gift to the newborn was
a mobile to hang over the crib. Her first baby was
born in December and it’s
my turn to be auntie and to provide the mobile. Since
it’s baby who spends most time looking at the
mobile, my first design consideration was that it
should be interesting to look at from a baby’s-eye
view, below.

One of my favorite spring-time
activities is watching the birds as they go about
the busy business of courting and nest building
up in the branches of the trees in my backyard.
So inspired, I composed the mobile of branches and
birds for my new niece to look up at. I disguised
the structural parts of the mobile as tree branches
using I-cord twigs and garter-stitch leaves. From
the branches, colorful birds hang by crochet chains.
No two birds are alike, but they are all worked
in different combinations of the same eight colors.
By substituting a different palette, this mobile
could fit in well with any nursery décor.
I imagine a version with
white birch branches, and baby pastels for the leaves
and birds would look beautiful, too.

You can use any combination
of colors you like for your
birds. This is an ideal knit-from-stash
project because it uses small
amounts of many different colors, and as long as they
are of similar weights, they don’t
need to be the same yarn.
For the branch and leaf colors,
100 yards is more than enough, and for the other colors,
50 yards each is plenty. If you wanted to buy yarn for
the project, you could substitute Wool of the Andes
in Chocolate, Daffodil, Hollyberry and Winter Night
for the Lamb's Pride, the Cascade 220, the Swish Superwash
and the now discontinued Blueberry colorway, and the
total project cost would be under $20, even with the
dowel rod.

Recommended needle size: 1
set US #5/3.75 mm double-point
needles 1 set US #4/3.5 mm straight needles (or one size smaller than size used
to achieve gauge)
[always use a needle size that gives you the gauge listed
below -- every knitter's gauge is unique]

24 sts/32 rows = 4 inches in stockinette
stitch using larger (double-point) needlesNote: Gauge is not critical for this project, but it is important to work
more tightly than receommended ball band gauge for yarns used. This will
produce a firm fabric, which will help pieces maintain their shape and
prevent stuffing from leaking out.

PATTERN NOTES[Knitty's list of standard abbreviations and techniques can be found here.]

In
the mobile shown, each
bird uses five different
colors: one color each
for the body (including
tail), body stripe, head,
beak and wings.

The chart
at right lists the colours
used for each of these
parts of each bird. The
pattern will refer to 'body color', 'stripe color', etc.

Crochet Cast OnUsing waste yarn,
work a crochet chain several
sts longer than the number
of sts to be cast on. Starting
1 or 2 sts in from end of chain
and using working yarn, pick
up and k 1 st in the back loop
of each ch until the required
number of sts have been picked
up. Later, the chain will be
unraveled and the resulting
live sts picked up.

Jogless Stripes:
This technique may be used
to avoid the jog that happens at the beginning of a round,
when stripes are worked in the round.
Step 1: Work first round
of new color.
Step 2: Before working
first st of second round of new color, lift stitch below
first st of first round onto left needle. (The st you lift
onto left needle will be in previous stripe color.)
Step 3: Knit first st of
second round together with st that has been lifted onto
left needle, then continue knitting as usual.

BIRD (Make 5)
With body color, using Crochet
Cast On or other provisional cast on method and leaving a
tail approx. 18 inches long, CO 24 sts onto double-point needles.
Divide sts between needles
and join to begin working in the round, being careful not
to twist.

Body:
K first 4 sts of next round.
This point (center of bird's back) will now be beginning
of round; redistribute sts as needed. Join stripe color,
leaving a tail approx. 18 inches long.

Body is worked in 2-round stripes, using body color and
stripe color. To avoid jog at beginning of each stripe,
use 'Jogless Stripe' technique (see Pattern Notes). Carry
yarn not in use up inside of work. When beginning a new
stripe, be sure to bring the new color up from under the
old color; this will twist the strands, preventing holes
from forming at color-change points.

Color used for each round is indicated in brackets next
to round number. See color
chart in Pattern Notes.

This is a good time to embroider the eyes onto the head
of the bird, as you have
access to both sides of
the fabric. Working approx.
2 rows back from row currently
on needles, use black yarn
or embroidery floss to
work French knots (see
schematic below for placement).
See Pattern Notes for link
to directions for French
knots. If you haven't worked
a French knot before, you
may wish to practice on
a swatch before you begin.

Shape beak to a nice point and draw yarn end to inside
of head. Turning bird inside out, tighten knots, trim and
secure ends as needed, leaving long tails at beginning of
stripe color and body color.

Turn bird right side out. Stuff head and body, but not
tail. Use long tail of stripe color to sew body closed at
point where body joins tail; sew top of body to bottom of
body in a straight line, so that tail is flattened out at
base (see photos). Sew in remaining end of stripe color.

Carefully remove waste yarn from CO end, placing resulting
live sts on needles; place first 12 sts one one needle,
and last 12 sts on another needle. When needles are held
together, tail should lay flat. Graft sts on first needle
to sts on second needle. Sew in remaining end.

Wings:
Using wing color and double-point
needles, CO 19 sts, leaving a tail approx. 18 inches long.
Divide sts between needles and join to begin working in
the round, being careful not to twist.

Shape wing to a nice point and draw yarn end to inside
of piece. Weave in end, but leave long tail at beginning
of wing.
Knit another wing in the
same way.

Flatten wings, folding so that decrease line forms fold
at one side of wing. This decrease-line fold will form back
edge of wing. Use yarn tails to sew wings to sides of body
(see photos), ensuring that decrease-line folds are correctly
positioned toward back of bird.

BRANCHES
Using MC and double-point needle, CO 6 sts. Work I-Cord
until piece measures 15.5
inches. Break yarn, draw through all sts and pull tight. This
piece will be Branch 1.
Work three more l-Cord
branches in the same way, of the following lengths: Branch 2: 12.5 inchesBranch 3: 10.5 inchesBranch 4: 8 inches

LEAVES
Make 12 leaves using CC1, and 12 using CC2. Leaves
are worked back and forth in garter st. Although [RS]
and [WS] rows are indicated in directions, leaves are
reversible.

Cut four pieces of dowel,
with the following lengths: 15 inches, 12 inches, 10 inches
and 7.5 inches. These correspond to Branches 1, 2, 3 and
4.
Lightly sand cut ends of dowel. Insert lengths of dowel into I-cord branches,
sewing end of each branch closed using yarn tail at CO end.

Use attached yarn tails to sew three leaves to each end
of each branch. Weave in and trim all ends.

Using MC, work crochet chains of the following lengths,
leaving tails at least 4 inches long at the beginning and
end of each chain. Measure lengths of chains when stretched;
chains will stretch when piece is hung, so measuring length
when stretched will give a better indication of final results.
Four chains 8.5 inches
long (short chains)
Four chains 10 inches long
(mid-length chains)
One chain 11.5 inches long
(long chain)

Note about ceiling heights:
This mobile measures 42 inches in height when fully assembled,
which works well for high ceilings (10 feet or higher).
If you prefer a shorter mobile, reduce the length of the
chains. Reducing each chain by 1 inch will make a mobile
37 inches in height, and reducing each by 2 inches will
make a mobile 32 inches in height.

Wrap the end of one of the mid-length chains around your
index finger to create a loop at the end. Use the tail of
yarn to sew the loop securely. Weave in and trim the end.
Repeat for the other end of the chain. This chain, with
a loop at each end, should measure approx. 8.5 inches when
stretched. Form loops at each end of remaining three mid-length
chains in the same way.

Form a loop at one end of each short chain. Sew free end
of each short chain to the back of a bird, sewing through
several stitches to avoid stretching fabric out of shape.
Weave in ends; be sure to try hanging bird from chain before
sewing in ends, to ensure that the bird will hang in a pleasing
way.

Form a loop at one end of long chain, and sew remaining
end to back of remaining bird.

To attach the top of a chain to a branch, fold the loop
at the top of the chain over, then pull some of the chain
through the loop, forming an adjustable loop. (If you've
ever used a yo-yo, this will be familiar to you.) Slide
the adjustable loop over the end of a branch, past the leaves,
then pull to tighten.

In this way, assemble mobile as shown in diagram, using
mid-length chains to connect branches. After each step,
dangle the assembled piece to see if it is balanced; adjust
positions of pieces as needed.
- Beginning at the bottom,
hang two birds on the shortest
branch (branch 4).
- Hang branch 4 from the
end of branch 3, then hang another bird from the other end
of branch 3.
- Hang branch 3 from the
end of branch 2, then hang another bird from the other end
of branch 2.
- Fasten a chain around
the center of branch 1. Hang branch 2 from the end of branch
1, then hang another bird from the other end of branch 1.

Dangle mobile to see if it is balanced; adjust positions
of pieces as needed. Once all pieces are placed and mobile
is balanced, tighten loops. These may be sewn in place
if desired, but for mobile shown, pulling the loops tightly
was sufficient to keep everything in place.

ABOUT THE DESIGNER

Meg likes to knit toys (and other stuff, too). She has two daughters, one son, five nieces and a husband who is a kid at heart, so there's always someone ready to adopt the toys she knits. She's also a grad student in evolutionary biology and once had her research featured on The Colbert Report. That was cool, but she thinks having a pattern published in Knitty is even better!